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Bicycle lesson

Morris wasn’t pleased with the bicycle instructor that had
been assigned to him. He was more OK with the idea that it was a skeleton than
the fact it was an “it”. How was he supposed to address it – Mr.? Mrs.? Ms.?
Then he started to wonder why women got a different title when they got
married, but men stayed the same. But he didn’t have time to wonder very long
about that.

He needed to know the correct title so he would seem like an
appreciative student. He looked again at his assignment slip – Terry Hasenmiller.
No help there – that first name could go either way. He decided to settle on
“Teacher” as a safe bet.

After the preliminary instructions when it was determined
that Morris wasn’t a complete beginner at cycling, the instructor decided to go
over all the tips and tricks on how to maintain a bicycle. “As my teacher
always says ‘if you take care of your tools, they’ll take care of you’.”

Bicycles weren’t for exercise in those days. They were a
necessity in a culture that seemed to be going faster and faster. A bicycle
(never a “bike” according to Terry) was what made it possible to get a job or
an education other than just from what was around you. The bicycle was the
great weapon against mediocrity and even poverty. With a bicycle you could
pedal your way out of whatever you’d been born into and make for yourself a
better future. You were no longer limited by your circumstances – you could
rise above.

This attitude is why Terry was still alive – in spite of
being a skeleton. Terry didn’t let something as common as death put an end to a
good life. Terry hadn’t always taught people how to ride a bicycle, but it made
sense now. If it weren’t for the bicycle, Terry would never have known there
was a different life, ready for the taking, just on down the road. If it
weren’t for the bicycle, Terry would probably be just like everyone else in
that town – poor and content with a sixth-grade education.